A federal district court is allowing a lawsuit to proceed against an employer who fired a worker after he tested positive for nicotine, indicating he was a smoker. Although the company has a policy against employing smokers, the terminated worker says the enforcement of the policy constituted unlawful discrimination under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. He claims that in discharging him because he was a smoker, the company interfered with the attainment of his right to participate in the employee benefit plan covered by ERISA.

The district court refused to dismiss his claim, indicating that the resolution of whether the employment action was taken with the specific intent of interfering with the employee’s ERISA benefit may depend on what facts are produced at trial. Rodrigues v. The Scotts Company LLC